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Peter Bella – TheCookingCop.com

by

Steven A. Leahy

Peter Bella – TheCookingCop.com

By Steven A Leahy

Regular listeners to The IRS Radio Hour know my family members were union iron workers for three generations. I was a member of the Riggers, Machinery Movers & Erectors Local 136 for many years before I started practicing law. As a Rigger, I met and became friends with many Chicago Police Officers (still am). I always enjoyed their refreshing honesty about life in Chicago – It isn’t always what we think it is.

This week on the IRS Radio Hour we welcome Peter Bella to the show. I have known Mr. Bella for some time, he hired me to help him solve his IRS problem – it turns out he knew my brother Jim before he hired me. They were friends through mutual work with conservative causes. Peter Bella is a retired Chicago Police officer, photographer, blogger, chef and Chicago life observer.

PeterBella

I follow Mr. Bella’s blog posts on chicagonow.com. “Chicagonow.com is an online community created for Chicagoans by Chicagoans. Every day, ChicagoNow bloggers post more than 100 entries to the site about local topics. And every day, thousands of ChicagoNow users comment on those entries. The result is a lively, authentic conversation about all things Chicago.”

His recent articles include “Is it time to start Tentbnb in Chicago”; What cops know can solve some of America’s problems”; “Don’t bite the hand that fed you”; “Ignorant and uninformed rhetoric over police killings is disgraceful”; Just to name a few. Each article is a blunt, “as I see it” response to the biggest issues facing Chicago.

Mr. Bella also blogs about another subject I love: Food – as the Cooking Cop. Why Cooking Cop? He writes, “Cooking Cop sounded better than the Cooking Dude, Cooking Goof, Cooking Mook, or Cooking Mamaluke. I cook. I eat. I drink. I write about it. I shoot pictures too. That is my game.”

On TheCookingCop.com, Mr. Bella shares his “passion for eating, drinking, and cooking.” He shares “recipes, techniques and methods, handy kitchen tips and advice.” He also writes about his favorite Chicago restaurants, usually out of the way joints with little fanfare, but great food. I have to say, the pictures of the food he prepares are mouth-watering.

So, tune in to the IRS Radio Hour to meet Mr. Peter Bella, the Cooking Cop, on Sunday August 7, 2016 at 5:00 on AM 560 The Answer.

And remember, if you have an IRS problem – like the Cooking Cop did – Call Opem Tax Resolutions and the Law Office of Steven A. Leahy, PC at 312-664-6649.

How to Stop IRS Collection Efforts – These Secrets may Shock you!

by

Steven A. Leahy

How to Stop IRS Collection Efforts

By Steven A Leahy

IRS Collections can be maddening! The IRS Collection Department can levy your bank accounts, garnish your wages, take your assets, visit your home or workplace in order to collect back taxes. Here is the key to Stopping the IRS Collection efforts – compliance. That means filing your tax returns and paying your taxes in the future on time. It also means setting up a remedy for your past due tax obligations.

There are only 6 things you can do if you owe the IRS money – I talk about these six things over and over again. First, you can pay the IRS everything you owe them. Second, you can set up an installment agreement with the IRS. Pay them over time. Third, you can submit an Offer-in-Compromise, to pay a lump sum to settle the debt. Fourth, you can be declared currently not collectible – prove to the IRS you don’t have any disposable income after you pay all your monthly bills. Fifth, you can file for protection under one of the Chapters of the Bankruptcy laws. And, finally, you can continue to do nothing and let the IRS have their way with you.

Most people who come to see me are just plain scared of the IRS, and believe there isn’t a remedy that will work for them. So, they choose number six – they do nothing. It may take some time for the IRS to focus on your tax problem, but they will get around to it. Do not interpret the delay as proof the IRS has forgotten about you and you are “under the radar.”

One of the most common remedies for IRS problems is the second option, installment agreements. Now, there are different kinds of installment agreements. Most of my clients that enter into an installment agreement with the IRS enter in to a partial installment agreement. That means, the installment agreement will not pay the IRS obligation in full. This is the part most don’t understand. Even if I owe the IRS way more than I could ever repay, I can set up a partial installment agreement and pay the IRS what I can, even if the amount I can pay is $100.00 and I owe $200,000.00.

Now, most taxpayers think, “that means I will be paying the IRS forever.” But, here is a secret about IRS problems: The IRS has a set amount of time to collect an IRS debt. This date is referred to as the Collection Statute Expiration Date (CSED). Once that date is reached, the IRS must end all collection efforts, including releasing any liens that had been filed.

The best partial installment agreements leave you room to pay all your monthly obligations. We do this by collecting your financial information on an IRS Form 433. On this form, you list all your assets, your liabilities, your income and your expenses. Calculating your disposable income is a simple equation – all of your income, from whatever source, less your “allowed” expenses. The IRS scrutinizes the taxpayers expenses and disallows many of them. By disallowing reasonable expenses, the IRS is inflating your disposable income.

The real negotiations revolve around what expenses are allowed before your disposable income is calculated. That’s why taxpayers need help. The IRS will calculate a disposable income that will not allow you to pay all your other obligations. That guarantees the taxpayer will default some time in the future.

If you owe the IRS, a partial installment agreement may be your best remedy. Let’s find out. If you contact my office and mention this article, we will complete an IRS Analysis Report, that will tell you exactly where you stand with the IRS, for FREE. Call me, attorney Steven A. Leahy at 312-664-6649. Tell Bonnie, my scheduler, you want a FREE report.

How Liberal Judges are Failing Americans

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How Liberal Judges are Failing Americans

Transcript:

Attorney Leahy:
Welcome back. This is our special July 4th edition of the IRS radio hour.
There’s nothing more America, American, America American
Jim Leahy:
Plural?
Attorney Leahy:
Then the IRS , the Internal Revenue Service
Jim Leahy:
Which is sad to say
Attorney Leahy:
It is sad to say. But it’s true.
And, But What segment we are now Jim
Jim Leahy:
It’s the Blog segment
It’s the Blog segment; The Blog, The Blog
Attorney Leahy:
Now I’m gonna have to tell you that your sister Jessica..
Jim Leahy:
Yes.
Attorney Leahy:
Redid the beginning of the blog segment on our videos and it’s actually really good. You have to see it. I will show it to you.
Jim Leahy:
Really?
Attorney Leahy:
Yeah. So yeah
Jim Leahy:
Why are telling me this now?
Attorney Leahy:
You listeners, go, we’re gonna put it on and you’ll see on any of the blog segments
Jim Leahy:
I have to go to ChicagoTaxTeam.com
Attorney Leahy:
ChicagoTaxTeam.com. And you will see the Blog segment. Again, she did a really nice beginning for the Blog Segment. Blog Segment, Blog Segment.
Jim Leahy:
Hey, you need a any videos edited whatsoever, I mean this isn’t… Hey Jessica Leahy is the best in the business.
Attorney Leahy:
That’s true and I think she does a great job for us. But I wanted to point out that she just did I just
Saw it the other day. So really good.
This segment, we’re going to talk, I had written a blog segment to describe my most common clients and what goes into solving IRS problems, but I’m going to save that for another day
Jim Leahy:
For a rainy day
Attorney Leahy:
Well it doesn’t have to rain. But I’m saving it for another day, because it’s the fourth of July and because Jimmy and I, on the way here had a very nice discussion about the justices and what’s going on. So there’s two instances that really brought this matter up. One is this new
Supreme Court decision in which Anthony Kennedy went with the liberal justices and they’ve got a 5 to 3 decision – because there’s only eight of them now.
Jim Leahy:
Ok.
Attorney Leahy:
So, he want with it the more liberal wing of the of the court and decided that that Texas that required their abortion clinics to have the doctors at abortion clinics have access to, or admission access to hospitals close by so if there’s an emergency they could, the women could get emergency healthcare. The Court said nah…you can’t do that. That’s an imposition. That might require some women to travel further to get an abortion, and we can’t have that. That’s an imposition of their rights.
Jim Leahy:
that’s just…that doesn’t seem correct
Attorney Leahy:
Doesn’t make any sense to me. You know it seems, kind of opposite. There’s so much about everything that happens in America now seems to be more control more more more we want more safety. Cars are you can’t have a car that doesn’t have every safety feature in the world on it because
Jim Leahy:
That would cost more
Attorney Leahy:
Which costs more money. And the government, all this stuff. They don’t want to have sugar, they don’t want to us to have. You know they’re regulating everything
Jim Leahy:
Which costs more.
Attorney Leahy:
They’re regulating everything. But..
Jim Leahy:
I mean we grow tobacco in this in the country, and it is it’s $11 a pack. I don’t smoke anymore.
Attorney Leahy:
No? Well good for you.
Jim Leahy:
I’m not. I’m not a smoker. I’m just saying. I don’t think it should be $11 pack.
Attorney Leahy:
But it seems like opposite of what’s going on. Same thing with immigration. You know, we let, you know, it’s like we bend over backwards and don’t apply the law and so many areas. And here, it seems, like they want safety measures, and they say “No No, You can’t have any
safety measures. you can’t do that. That’s ridiculous.
So, then the second one was there is a Justice here, I shouldn’t call him a Justice, a judge here in the seventh circuit and we’re in the seventh circuit here in Chicago and the court is downtown. And Judge Posner is a judge here in the US Court of Appeals Seventh Circuit and of Judge that I admired. I read a lot of his opinions when I was in law school. He’s been around forever. He was appointed by Ronald Reagan, and he’s been around forever. And I read a lot of his opinions, and I admired him. And I thought he was a very well thought out, conservative jurist. But this is what he said:
“And on another note about academia and practical law, I see absolutely no value to a judge of spending decades, years, months, weeks, day, hours, minutes, or seconds studying the Constitution, the history of its enactment, its amendments, and the implication across the centuries. Well just a little more than two centuries, and of course less for many of
the amendments. 18th century guys, however smart, could not foresee the culture technology etc of the 21st century which means that the original Constitution the Bill of Rights the post-civil war the amendments including the 14th, do not speak to today.
David Strauss is Right. The Supreme Court treats the Constitution like it is authorizing the court to create a common law of constitutional law based on current concerns, not what those 18th century guys were worrying about. In short, let’s not let the dead bury the living.”
So, we don’t have to.. Now, this gentleman and when you take over the judiciary, when you get sworn in,
Jim Leahy:
Yes.
Attorney Leahy:
You take an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States of America, and if the Constitution doesn’t apply, well then, there are ways in the Constitution to change it, to make it apply. First off, I think it applies because it’s about human nature not about technology, not about what kind or mode of transportation they have.
Jim Leahy:
And that’s a failure that a lot of people have. They go, well, for example, this is such a largely talked about amendment, the Second Amendment, you know it was meant for muskets not semi-automatic fire. And the argument goes, it’s basic human nature that this Constitution applies to. I have argued with people, especially people who are in psychology, I’m not offending anyone, I’m just trying to say…hey I didn’t graduate college…so I’m just saying that you know if you graduate college whatever made you, god bless you, you did something I couldn’t do… and I’m not saying I can’t…
Attorney Leahy:
OK, OK, let’s move on for that because I think that, I think
Jim Leahy:
Let me, let me say my piece.
Attorney Leahy:
Got it.
Jim Leahy:
Well thanks for that Steven, what was I trying to say?
Attorney Leahy:
I don’t know.
Jim Leahy:
Oh, they were arguing that you know we people are you basic human nature and this and that but that’s what the Constitution is meant for. Tat’s what the Constitution is implemented for if they followed their history.
Attorney Leahy:
In my mind, if these men were making the Constitution today, they would still have the Second Amendment. They still have the First Amendment. They wouldn’t say “Oh, we don’t need the Second Amendment because we have dangerous guns.” No. They would still have the Second Amendment. What we were talking about is – Why is it that these conservative justices, that go on these courts, later become more liberal. But never the liberal judges become more conservative. Why is that? And then Jim would say “Well maybe we’re on the wrong side.”
Jim Leahy:
That’s what I asked, “is conservatism, and actually constitutionalism, on the wrong side?” I mean, do they know something that I don’t know? I mean they are in a position of power. That, I mean, they are trusted with our laws and I…
Attorney Leahy:
And my response to that is exactly what you just said, they are men in positions of power, and that power gives them the authority to do whatever they want. And when you’re conservative, you can’t exercise that power. You have to follow others who put a constitution and limits on your power. And so what they’re saying is “I don’t need them to limit my power. I’m smarter than them. I know what has to be done and I’m going to do it the way I see fit. Not…regardless of what the Constitution says.” And I think that’s why conservative judges & justices become liberal, because they start putting their own ideas in place of everybody else’s ideas and somehow think they’re better than everybody else and they don’t need the Constitution to limit the effect they have on mankind.
Jim Leahy:
Yeah
Attorney Leahy:
And that’s exactly why we need the Constitution! Because judge people like Posner, and people like a Kennedy should follow the law, and not make it up as they go along.
Jim Leahy:
That is that is what that is for. And that is what that document is for, is to limit those kind of people that are the “outside the box” thinkers.
Attorney Leahy:
The liberal thinkers, they don’t care about what the Constitution says. They are more outcome-based. They figure the way, what the outcome should be, and then figure a way around it. Instead of following it.
Kokinen Clip:
“Where ever we can, we follow the law.”
Attorney Leahy:
Exactly. And they don’t always follow the law, because they don’t want to. Because it doesn’t do with, it doesn’t reach them to the conclusion they want to be at. And that’s why we have liberal justices.
Jim Leahy:
People are taking a look at the government is such a wrong in such a wrong way. It’s we the people, not they the enthroned, they the privileged.
Attorney Leahy:
At least it use to be. And I think, the only thing that gives me hope, and this
Jim Leahy:
Brexit
Attorney Leahy:
Brexit, what ever it’s called. Whatever it is. It gives me hope. Why? Because nobody wanted that. The elites didn’t want it. The media, the media didn’t want it. Those in charge didn’t want it. And we still going to have to fight it because, I tell you, just because they voted in doesn’t mean these people are going to do what they said they’re supposed to do, They’re not going to. And we have people like Kerry, Secretary of State telling us how finding ways to get around their vote. So, that, to me is ridiculous and, and, and he should, that right there, he should be removed just for that opinion. My own opinion.
Jim Leahy:
Well, if the IRS is coming after you and they don’t like your opinion on them, remember ladies and gentleman there s only one person to call, one law firm to call, which is Opem Tax Resolutions at 312-664-6649 or visit ChicagoTaxTeam.com. Now, stay tuned because after the commercial break more Fourth of July special here on the IRS Radio Hour, is comin at you, here on AM 560
Attorney Leahy & Jim Leahy:
The Answer

Who Files Bankruptcy – The Answer Will Surprise You

by

Steven A. Leahy

Who Files Bankruptcy – The Answer Will Surprise You

By Steven A Leahy

With the Trump Bankruptcies in the news lately, you may be wondering “Who Files Bankruptcy?” The answer may surprise you. Bankruptcy is a Federal Law and is administered by the Federal Court System under the rules of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. “The primary purposes of the federal bankruptcy laws are to give an honest debtor, either a person or a business, a ‘fresh start’ in life by relieving the debtor of most debts, and to repay creditors in an orderly manner to the extent that the debtor has property available for payment.”

In the first three months of 2016, 201.906 bankruptcy cases were filed nationwide – a vast majority (195,679) were consumer cases. There are 90 Bankruptcy Courts – each a unit of a U.S. District Court. The Northern District of Illinois is comprised of the Eastern and Western Divisions, and has 10 bankruptcy judges. 11, if you count the retired Judge that handles a limited case load. The Northern District of Illinois encompasses 18 counties – with court locations in Chicago, Joliet, Rockford, Lake County and Geneva.

The Northern District of Illinois leads the nation in bankruptcy filings with 47,535 case filings over the 12 month period ending March 2016. That is actually a decrease of 6.6% compared to the previous 12 month period. A recent study revealed the top reason people file for protection under the bankruptcy code is – Medical Bills! The second reason is – Job loss! Both of these reasons may have nothing to do with the person filing bankruptcy.

I help people resolve their IRS problems. As I have mentioned many times – there are only 6 things you can do if you owe the IRS money. One of those six things is bankruptcy. Many of my clients are reluctant to even consider bankruptcy as a remedy. They believe it isn’t morally available to them. They have always paid their debts, and filing bankruptcy would go against that value.

First, often a tax debt includes an unreasonable amount of penalties and interest. A debt that may not hold the same moral obligation as the underlying debt. Second, as I explain to my clients, bankruptcy does not protect you from your moral obligations. Bankruptcy only protects you from some legal obligations. My favorite example is Abraham Lincoln. That’s right Honest Abe sought protection under the bankruptcy laws. You see, he had creditors taking legal action against him after a failed partnership in a General Store.

The Bankruptcy Code protects a person from their creditors. Most creditors are prohibited from collecting on the debt. It does not, however, prevent that person from repaying their creditors if they elect to do so. Honest Abe is a good example of this concept. Once granted legal protection from his creditors, Abraham Lincoln felt he still had moral obligations to repay his creditors. He paid every creditor back. It took some time to accomplish this – but in the end, his creditors were paid.

If you were to seek legal protection from your creditors, like the IRS, you could still repay the debt, at your convenience, should you feel a moral obligation to do so. Maybe you feel a moral obligation to pay the underlying debt, but not the unreasonable penalties and interest. You could do that. The IRS would accept the money!

If you have IRS problems and need the help of a professional to resolve it – I encourage you to call my office. Opem Tax Resolutions and the Law Office of Steven A. Leahy, PC helps taxpayers resolve their IRS problems

IRS Problems: Know Where You Are Before You Can Get Where You Want To Be

by

Steven A. Leahy

Find Out Where You Are So You Can Get Where You Want To Be

By Steven A Leahy

Too often clients come to see me with IRS problems and tell me how to solve their problem. When I ask, how much they owe? How old is the debt? How much is penalties? How much is interest? They don’t have an answer.

How can you know how to solve a problem, if you don’t even understand what the problem is? IRS problems are no different from any other problem. Understanding the problem goes a long way to figuring out how to solve the problem Radio and television ads always push to pay the IRS pennies on the dollars – an offer-in-compromise. So, that’s the remedy clients want. They want to pay pennies on the dollar. The problem is, an offer-in-compromise is NOT the right answer for every case. In fact, putting an offer-in-compromise forward may be exactly the wrong way to solve your IRS problem.

Begin with an Investigation

So, let’s start at the beginning. First learn exactly where you are. Only then can you chart a course to get you where you want to be. To learn where you are, my office completes an complete investigation. The investigation begins by gathering all of the information we can from the IRS. The IRS has account transcripts for every year, wage Transcripts, tax return transcripts, just to name a few. These transcripts contain lots of information about your IRS problem. At my office, we have access to a a propitiatory software package that takes all that IRS information and puts it into a form we can use to understand it.

The report will detail how much you owe; how much is penalties, and how much is interest. The report will analysis the dates of assessments, the number of tolling days, the Collection Statute Expiration Dates, and the important dates concerning the dischargability of taxes in bankruptcy. The report also provides a breakdown of every payment the taxpayer has made and how they were applied. The report will also reveal if the IRS prepared a tax return for the taxpayer (known as a Substitute for Return, or SFR) or if some returns are still unfiled.

Once we know where the IRS puts you, we gather information about your particular financial situation. We gather this information on IRS Form 433. This form collects the taxpayers income, assets, liabilities, income and expenses. Only after we have all this information can we compose a strategy to solve your IRS problems.

The Six Things You Can Do If You Owe The IRS

Remember, there are only six things you can do if you owe the IRS money. You can pay the IRS what they claim you owe. You can enter into one of several kinds of installment agreements. You can submit an Offer-in-Compromise (offer a lump sum settlement). You can have the IRS place you in a Currently not Collectible status (get the IRS to leave you alone for a time without payments). You can seek protection under the bankruptcy code. Or, finally, you can do nothing and let the IRS have their way with you.

Don’t let someone tell you they know how get you where you want to be (solve your IRS problem) – unless they know where you are now. That’s why a complete investigation is so important.

If you are facing IRS Problems, call Opem Tax Resolutions at 312-664-6649. If you mention this blog post, we will complete the first step, the IRS analysis report, for FREE.

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